What Happened to the 24 Unreturned Dead Hostages?

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.

Editor David Horovitz joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode.

We begin the program by describing the joy and relief experienced by families of released hostages -- and all Israelis -- as they were reunited with their loved ones.

However, Hamas handed over the bodies of only four dead hostages, with Israel and the families of the remaining 24 accusing the terror group of breaching its commitments under the ceasefire. The International Committee of the Red Cross said that it will take time before the bodies of all the dead hostages are returned, calling it a “massive challenge” given the difficulties of finding remains amid Gaza’s rubble. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said that it will hold an emergency meeting tonight as anger mounts.

Yesterday afternoon, after the 20 living hostages had returned home, US President Donald Trump spoke at the Knesset and declared “the historic dawn of the new Middle East.” Trump said it marked “not only the end of war, but the end of an age of terror and death and the beginning of the age of faith and hope and of God.” Horovitz paints a picture of the atmosphere at the Knesset and delves into noteworthy statements.

Following his Knesset speech, Trump met with the leaders of Qatar, Egypt and Turkey and signed a document in Sharm el-Sheikh aimed at enshrining the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. Today, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he will seek the support of Gulf states, the United States and Europe for the reconstruction of Gaza under the new ceasefire deal, and he believes project financing will be provided swiftly. We discuss the viability of a phase two of Trump's peace plan.

Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates.

For further reading:

All 20 remaining living hostages return to Israel, after over 2 years in Hamas captivity

Slain hostage’s mother: Government betrayed families whose loved ones remain in Gaza

Israel frees nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including hundreds of terror convicts

Rapturously received in the Knesset, Trump tells Israel it won the war, now it’s time for peace

Full text of Trump’s Knesset speech: You’ve won. You can’t beat the world. It’s time for peace

At Sharm summit, Trump and world leaders sign up for peace in Gaza, with Netanyahu absent

Hamas said to kill over 30 Gazans as group moves to reassert its grip on Strip

Hamas reappears on Gaza’s streets, and two of three militias that fought it go quiet

Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves.

IMAGE: A woman, left, wrapped with an Israeli flag with the photo of one of her best friend Itay Chen, who was killed in Hamas' attack on October 7, is embraced at the plaza known as Hostages Square, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

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